Questions tagged [dune]
For questions about "Dune", a science fiction franchise which originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Use this tag for the franchise, universe and/or the novel.
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Where was the Shield Wall brought down?
At the end of the first Dune book, the Paul Atreides and the Fremen attack Arrakeen. They bring down part of the Shield Wall using Atomics in order to be able to ride worms to the city. I tried to ...
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In Dune, how is the spice mélange used for space travel?
I've read parts of the book and seen both David Lynch's and Denis Villeneuve's films, but I've not seen a concrete description of how exactly mélange enables space travel.
The David Lynch film ...
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Why don't the sandworms attack outworlder cities in Arrakis?
I recently watched Denis Villeneuve's version of Dune. It is mentioned that the sandworms are always attracted to artificial vibrations. I remember the books also mentioning multiple times that ...
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How would the Bene Gesserit get their hands on worm bile?
According to fandom.com Dune wiki, the way a Bene Gesserit trainee becomes a Reverend Mother is by transmuting the Water of Life, being the bile of a young sandworm
Now, for the Fremen's own use, for ...
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What degenerative disease did the Baron have?
(Spoilers for various Dune books)
In the Dune Encyclopedia entry for
it is said that she infects
with a degenerative disease which can be covered up by
What was the disease?
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Why did House Atreides have to give up Caladan, while the Harkonnens were allowed to stay on Geidi Prime while also controlling Arrakis?
In the first Dune book, we see House Atreides pack up and move permanently to Arrakis, even though they clearly have deep ties to Caladan. We also learn that the Harkonnens were allowed to maintain ...
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Did the Sardaukar used to be prisoners?
It's rather a long time since I've read the Dune books and when listening to the Sardaukar Chant, I remembered something of the Sardaukar being from a prison planet and started to check their origin.
...
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Liet-Kynes's imperial name
In Dune (the book), Liet-Kynes is a kind of spiritual leader of the Fremen. The Fremen call him Liet, and the imperials (including Harkonnen and Atreides) call him Dr Kynes. Only the Fremen know that ...
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Do any Thinking Machine remnants ever get "dug up", post-Butlerian Jihad, in the Dune universe?
The prohibition on the creation of Thinking Machines in the background of the Dune universe is well understood. However from those titles that I have read, the prime reason for this seems to be writen ...
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Why aren't shield piercing projectile weapons used on a massive scale? [closed]
In the Dune 2021 we see Duncan Idaho being shot at with a projectile weapon. He had to use his sword to pry the projectile off his shield. But imagine a dozen of those projectiles working their way ...
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Is there a faction using the Lasgun / Shield reaction?
Just rewatched the new Dune movie and had to explain to a friend why melee combat is a thing. I then started wondering: this could very well be used as an offensive weapon. Emphasis by me:
Lasguns ...
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Why is the Baron bathing in a dark liquid?
Why is Baron Harkonnen bathing in a dark liquid? My guess is that the liquid can heal him after the attempt on his life.
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In Villeneuve’s Dune, Pt. 1, is Dr. Liet-Kynes her mother?
Is Dr. Liet-Kynes…
Kynes is introduced and essentially killed before
With Kynes’ story over, it seems there’s no point in the film adaptation to make the connection; although admittedly this might ...
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Why were the Harkonnen risking using a lasgun to shoot down Idaho's ornithopter?
Were the Harkonnen using lasguns in the new Dune movie to try and shoot down Duncan?
It looked like they were shooting lasguns at Duncan as he escaped at one point in the movie. Wouldn't this create ...
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Why would the Emperor send his personal troops to help the Harkonnen?
I have just seen the new Dune movie (2021) and I really liked it, but I do not understand the Emperor's actions completely. Note that I have not read any of the books, and I still wish to more-or-less ...
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Is there canonical evidence in the first 6 books that Dune takes place in 10191?
I hear the year 10191 thrown around a lot for when Dune is set. I do not remember that exact number coming up, or if it did it was a BG (before Guild) year, not CE (our time) year. So I'm wondering if ...
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Has the (Dune universe) Solari ever been represented physically?
I wanted to design a Solari note, but I'm wondering if the Solari has ever been represented physically in any other official Dune-related media.
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What was the black spider creature in Villenueve's Dune, Part One?
There is a scene where the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam meets secretly with Barron Harkonnen and his mentat, Piter de Vries, to demand that Jessica and Paul be left unharmed. At the start of the ...
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Why didn't they notice the invasion in Dune?
I just saw the Dune: Part 1 movie, and haven't read the books at all.
In the movie, there's an invasion on the Arrakis planet, that seemed to come from nowhere. In the movie they mentioned some ...
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Where is House Ordos in the 2021 movie Dune?
Back in the 90s, I used the play the Dune 2 RTS computer game, and I recall there being three houses: Atreides (blue), Harkonnen (red) and Ordos (green) (along with an unplayable Emperor). But in the ...
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Why don't stillsuits protect/retain fluid from the wearer's eyes?
I saw the new Dune (2021) movie last night (astonishingly good BTW), and I noticed that the stillsuits don't typically cover the eyes or upper faces of the person wearing the suit.
When the suit was ...
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Why didn't the Atreides family extensively watch this character in such a period of tension?
I just saw the movie Dune (2021), and I also read the first book a few years ago.
I was surprised that one of the closest persons of the Atreides' family, Dr. Yueh, didn't get any surveillance, such ...
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Has it ever been explained what Paul could have done to stop the Jihad? [duplicate]
Throughout Dune, Paul has moments he calls nexus points where decisions he makes draw the Jihad he is trying to prevent closer. Some of these moments happen only after he has made a choice he doesn’t ...
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What did Herbert think of David Lynch's Dune?
In a discussion thread on reddit, one post claimed that Frank Herbert liked David Lynch's adaptation of his novel (until then I was under the impression Herbert never lived to see it, but I digress)- ...
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Why didn't Jessica Atreides have a son and a daughter? [duplicate]
In the novel Dune, Jessica Atreides had been ordered to have a daughter with Duke Leto. However; she defied that order and had a son as Leto desired. As is well know, a woman can have multiple ...
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What is the In- and Out of Universe meaning of Padishah Emperor
According to Wikipedia, Padishah means 'Master King':
Padishah ('Master King'; from Persian: pād [or Old Persian: pati], 'master', and shāh, 'king'),sometimes rendered as Padeshah or Padshah (Persian:...
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What's 'chemavit'?
In Dune, we learn from the Duke that one of the main food sources is something called 'chemavit'. As far as I can tell it's not mentioned elsewhere in the novel(s).
Again, the Duke faced his son. “...
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Where is food found on Arrakis?
Some have asked questions regarding the ecosystem of Dune; I'm looking for a more human insight.
One of the central in-fiction themes of Dune is the scarcity of water, and the natives of Arrakis have ...
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Why not settle near the polar caps?
In the novel Dune, according to the map in the back of the book, Arrakeen is at latitude 60 degrees, and Carthag a little farther north. Early in the novel, there is a description of a globe with ...
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What is the ancient language that Leto II and Ghanima use when speaking privately?
In Children of Dune Leto II and Ghanima sometimes use an "ancient language" to converse with each other, a language that only they know of:
Leto reverted to the ancient language they used ...
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Dune - Extinction Leto II already prevented?
Is anything known about the averted extinction described below?
From a Golden Path in Dune question currently seeing activity
Is the Golden Path necessary? He tells Siona:
"Without me, there ...
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What happened to the Atreides family's holdings after the death of Duke Leto?
What happened to the holdings of the Atreides family after Duke Leto is assassinated?
His family rules planet Caladan, has a seat in the Landsraad assembly of noble families, has control over planet ...
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Who took over the planet Caladan after House Atreides left for Dune?
Does Frank Herbert ever state who took over governorship of the planet Caladan after House Atreides departed for Arrakis? It seems to be implied that they gave Caladan up rather than governing both it ...
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Origin of why Baron Harkonnen despises Duke Leto Artreides
Updated question with summary:
Why does Baron Harkonnen agree to exterminate the Atreides family when asked by the Emperor?
In "Dune", the Emperor tells the Harkonnen family to leave Arrakis ...
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What does the last line in Heretics of Dune mean?
Odrade asks the worm a question, and the line is "there was no answer, but then she wasn't expecting an answer". Odrade had no ability to speak to the worms as Sheeana does, so on one level ...
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How did Gurney know where and when to wait for Leto II?
I am in the middle of the 3rd Dune book, Children of Dune. I do not understand how Lady Jessica/Gurney knew that Leto II would go to the desert, the time and location. I may guess that the Lady ...
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Why didn't House Atreides stay on Caladan?
At the beginning of book 1 of Dune, the Duke Leto is appointed by the Emperor as a fief ruler for the planet of Arrakis. We learn that this is really a trap, and the Emperor is conspiring with Baron ...
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Where was the missing spice harvester carryall?
In a scene in David Lynch's Dune, Duke Leto and Paul take an aircraft to observe a spice harvester in action. When a sandworm is en-route to attack the harvester, Duke Leto takes his aircraft down to ...
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In Dune, was Leto Atreides plotting a coup?
When Fenring attends the gladiatorial match, Thufir Hawat mentions the Atreides were training men to be the equal of Sardaukar, but it's never mentioned why Leto was so intent on upsetting the ...
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How can the Bene Geserit determine the sex of their offspring? [duplicate]
Lady Jessica defied her Reverend Mother's edict to "bear only daughters" because Duke Leto wanted a son- but how could these women choose what gender their children would be in the first ...
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Why did Jessica Atreides have a son?
I'm listening to the Dune audiobook years after reading the book. The only reason I noticed mentioned for why Jessica has a son is because Leto wanted one.
I find this very unconvincing. I mean she ...
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Did Reverend Mother Mohiam actually do anything to Paul on Caladan to prevent him from talking to Leto about the threat?
In the beginning of Dune, I'm afraid I don't remember the exact quote, Paul and Leto are talking about Arrakis. Paul gives a warning to Leto, but remarks internally on "the effort" it takes ...
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In the original six Dune books, when was the first mention of the Golden path, and did it mean the same thing as it did by the end?
The question says it all. When was the first mention of the Golden path in the books and when it was mentioned did it mean what it meant at the end of the series? Note that I do not want an answer ...
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How do you get to orbit in Dune?
In the book Dune there are suspensor fields, and I believe (but am not sure) that some kinds of vehicle use them for flying, whereas there are also other flying vehicles (the ornithopters) that do not....
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Suspensors vs ornithopters in Dune
This question is about the Dune books, but it was inspired by watching the trailer for the upcoming Denis Villeneuve Dune move: in the trailer there are ornithopters (actually technically entomopters ...
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How many different versions of cover art has Frank Herbert's Dune had since 1965?
Frank Herbert's Dune has had more than several printings. How many different versions of cover art have been used in total, to date? Is there a source where they are all shown together?
If it is ...
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What is the solution to the problem of Delta Pavonis and Fomalhaut being seen in the sky of Dune? [closed]
In my aswer to this question:
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/236769/dune-takes-place-near-the-north-pole-of-arrakis-why-no-midnight-sun[1]
I said that some questions about Dune would be ...
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DUNE takes place near the north pole of Arrakis – why no midnight sun?
I just finished Dune. the majority of the novel takes place near the north pole of Arrakis. Arrakis’ sun, however, rises and sets in a way typical of Earth’s more temperate latitudes without any ...
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Do the sandworms know why humans are on Dune?
Recently I've re-watched David Lynch's Dune, and particularly the sandworm attacking a spice harvester has made me wonder something, as strange as it might sound- do the sandworms see humans as pests ...
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In Dune, how do people cope with the lack of computers?
I understand that Mentats have replaced the computers but the Mentats don't seem to be that many in number. From my understanding each house only has one Mentat. Now Mentats make perfect sense for ...
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